


Among the Stars

by TheElusiveDabbler (I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins), Vorcha_Girl



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 03:47:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9159088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins/pseuds/TheElusiveDabbler, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vorcha_Girl/pseuds/Vorcha_Girl
Summary: The Reaper War is over. Commander Shepard is a hero, a savior.But Liara's heart is broken,Written as a giftfic for the Mass Effect Fanfiction Secret Santa Exchange





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Joking611](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joking611/gifts).



The first time Shepard died, it felt like a knife in Liara's stomach. But she refused to cry and refused to mourn her bondmate. No. She would find a way to save her; even if Shepard hated her for it. A life without her in was unimaginable, and somehow she was certain that a part of Shepard still lived on and wanted to return.

And so, her desperate grind to bring her love back began. Every credit chip she had went into locating her body, every hour into the search, and every fibre of her being hoped that she would find her before anyone else. 

Then, when she did find her, she handed her love over to Cerberus. 

Goddess, _Cerberus!_ The one group Shepard hated above all others. 

The ghost of a memory stirred, and Liara pressed a hand against her head as she remembered the horrors of what Cerberus had done to others, and how Shepard had loathed them for it.

_"If it's the last thing I do, I'll take Cerberus down for this," Shepard whispered, looking down at the twisted, malformed corpses of innocent civilians. Their bodies had been experimented on, morphing them into something no longer human._

_Liara placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder, her touch gentle. "I'm sorry," she whispered, but the sound of the mako gearing up had drowned out her words._

But somehow, by the grace of the Goddess, Shepard had forgiven her; had taken her back and held her. Their lips pressed close together, warm, soft, and tender, and they had cried in each other’s arms as they reunited. Shepard was still the only one to comfort her, even after the chaos she'd been through herself. 

And now ... now she was gone again.

_It can't be real._

Liara stumbled and fell to her knees, head snapping back and forth as she whispered Shepard's name over and over. _It can't be true, this can't be real. Not again._ She screamed, a hoarse broken sound like the scraping of broken glass that echoed in the late evening air. 

Her pale blue fingers clutched at her fringe as tears rolled freely down her face, her grief like an open bloody wound. She could feel the eyes of Garrus and Ashley watching her but didn’t care. _Let them see!_ Cerberus was gone now and there was no bringing Shepard back again. Not this time. Not ever again.

She always knew Shepard would die before her. But not this soon. Not like this. She wanted to watch her grow old, to see her bright red hair slowly change to grey, to see delicate wrinkles form on her beautifully angular face. Liara pressed a hand against her stomach, fingers curling into a fist against the small bump. She had wanted their unborn child to meet her human mother. 

She forced herself to look at the body, to see her one last time.

Shepard's face and body were mangled, twisted. Blood coated her skin like morbid war paint. Her hair was all but gone, burnt from her scalp. The sharp, bitter pain of loss raged inside her as she struggled to reign in the sobs that wracked her body.

 _Look away! Look away!_ The desperate urge beat in time to the pulse of her heart and with a sob that ended on a keening cry, Liara ripped her gaze away from the woman who had stolen her heart so many years ago. _I' _m sorry, Shepard. By the Goddess, I'm so sorry.__

The Reapers are gone, she knows this. Destroyed in the same explosion that blew the Mass Relays apart, taking EDI and the Geth with them. But somehow Liara can't bring herself to care either that the war is won, that her friends have died, or that she is trapped on Earth. The only thought in her mind is that Shepard is gone. 

The grief, _the loss_ , is all consuming this time around. 

She can still feel the way Shepard’s soft, human lips had felt against hers; warm, firm, and unyielding. Full of confidence and easy swagger.   _It isn't _fair.__ First she lost Thessia. And now her only solace is a broken corpse. 

Garrus' talons come to rest against her shoulder carefully, his dual-tone voice gentle as he speaks. "We'll all miss her," he says. "She won't be forgotten."

Liara swallows back a sob, wiping the tears from cheeks. "I know," she replies.

Garrus means well, but he doesn't understand. None of them do; how could they?

Slowly, she climbs to her feet, the physical pain of her injuries finally taking hold past the grief and rage. Blood trickles from her forehead, dripping into her eyes and half-blinding her. Ashley hands her a medkit, and she nods, unable to meet the soldier's steady gaze. Instead she looks out across the field of corpses and broken bits of reapers. The stench of death and destruction fouls the air. 

"I'm sorry, my love. I couldn't save you this time," she whispers, words lost in a sudden gust of heavy wind.

 

The only reply is silence.


End file.
